Queen of Crochet

Grandma Roos is SO amazing at crocheting. When the kids were babies, they always had the most gorgeous blankets, sweaters or dresses. Look what she made for Courtney! I got some yarn, a pattern, and Mom went to work. Aren't they gorgeous!?! Courtney loves them.

The other day at school, I got swarmed by first grade girls, begging for Courtney's Grandma to make them a flower headband.

She has some serious mad skills. Love them!

The Dodgers Are Back in Town!

...and so are the Rooses! Darren's parents came down to enjoy their Grandkids, the weather, and a little spring training.

Go Dodgers!

With these guys on your team, how could you possibly not win?

Chillin' in the shade

All three of these boys LOVE this sport! So happy to have them here.

Freezing Flagstaff

The kids were so looking forward to playing in the Flagstaff snow again. The verdict: It was TOO cold! The kids spent their time swimming in the indoor pool and being DS zombies.
The exciting trip also included a full day visit to Urgent Care--Courtney was sick:(

Brrrrr!

Spoiled!

When Alexander was little, he called the store Old Navy "Old Lady." I think I qualify for that title now.

Out for breakfast, out for lunch, out for dinner & reflexology massage. I feel a little spoiled (by my friends)!

My family spoiled me to...it was Fast Sunday, so we chilled and then Darren made dinner!

Should I Weight?

Xander Man's Science Fair project was chosen as one of the top 3 in his class. He did a great job on it and he & Darren had fun experimenting with weight placement on a Pinewood Derby car.I hope this new "I-don't-want-my-picture-taken-you're-embarrassing-me-Mom" phase gets over soon!

Scare @ School... Take 2

Every time the phone rings during the school day, I panic, considering the huge accident Alexander had at school two years ago.
Flashbacks. Horrifying.
When the school called this afternoon and told me to be there in 5 minutes, I panicked again.
When I got to the nurse's office, the smell of blood almost made me sick.
They told me Courtney had been running laps in P.E. and had fallen. Then a classmate had tripped over her and it caused her head to be knocked into the cement.
I noticed blood all over her little hand and sleeve.
She's bleeding?!
I picked her up and looked at the back of her head. Her hair was shades of pink & red, and the chair was covered in blood.
She wasn't very responsive, just whimpering.
On the way to the hospital, at a red light, I sent a text to my family, telling them Courtney had hit her head and to please remember her in their prayers.
Not long after, she started being responsive & by the time we got to the hospital, was talking and even smiling.
Her hair was stopping the bleeding for the moment, and we waited several hours before we were seen.
In the meantime, Courtney told me some distressing details.
The P.E. teacher was having them run backwards, in a line, on the cement. Call me crazy, but that just seems like an accident waiting to happen.
Also, she told me the P.E. teacher ran across campus to the Nurse's office to get help. When I asked which grown-up had stayed with her, she said, No one. I was alone.
Are you KIDDING me?
She could have blacked out, had a seizure, vomited... we don't know if she blacked out, because she was alone. {Unless you count a bunch of freaked out 6-year-olds as supervision?}
I want to discuss this with the school, but am not sure what exactly to say...


Daddy & Brother got her two little bears & some candy for being so brave!

Anyway, after hours of waiting, they cleaned the wound, and decided rather than stapling or stitches, to try to glue it back together.
She was a real trooper, not even a peep out of her. My brave little girl!
To see my baby's blood spilt like that-- to see her in pain-- I wanted to take it all away from her!
Bless her little heart! When we got home, to my dismay, it had started bleeding again.
I frantically called my brother {Dr. Smith} and he told me to gauze it and wrap it "army style."
During the night, it stopped bleeding.
The back of her shirt-- she was wearing dark colors, so the blood wasn't as obvious.Darren kept calling her "Axl Rose" since she looked like she had the rocker bandanna on.

Miss Courtney didn't think that was very funny.

2/22- We had a doctor visit today. No neurological delays, no sign of infection. She's on the mend. Thank heavens!

Back on the Scrapwagon

I think I'm back...we'll see.
I even joined a Silhouette group on Flickr as motivation to keep posting layouts.

President's Day

The kiddos had a President's Day program and celebration @ school today. I played "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader" with Alexander's class, and Courtney's class did fun activities and crafts honoring President Lincoln.
I thought their hats were hilarious.
When I asked Courtney why she kept closing her eyes, she said, Because I'm Abraham Lincoln, that's why!

{Duh, I guess I was supposed to know that?}

Happy Valentine's Day!

Technically, this was a few days before, but here's the story:
I got home from a late night crop Friday, and I expected the house to be dark and quiet.
I heard Classical music coming from my scrapbook room... and had to go see what was up.
I opened the door to THIS, and a beautiful card.
I love it! It almost spans one entire wall of my scrapbook room.
My husband is so sweet. Totally gets me.
Paris at night

On to Valentine's Day... pink {almost} heart shaped pancakes
My three loves {Well, four if you count the chocolate:}

Dinner was supposed to be lasagna, but we overslept and improvised with spaghetti & meatballs. It's all Italian, right?

MmmmMMmmMmmm...

Miss America Lemon Squares

I know you're probably thinking I'm trying to single-handedly derail all your New Year's resolutions.
Sorry about that.
It's Super Bowl Sunday, I have a tree full of ripe lemons, what's a girl to do? This is my favorite lemon bar recipe, from the Miss America cookbook {a souvenir from my pageant days}
Crust
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 cups flour
1/4 tsp. salt
2 sticks butter, softened to room temperature
Filling
4 eggs
4 TBS lemon juice
2 cups sugar
4 TBS flour
Grated rind of 1 lemon
Powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Crust: Combine the dry ingredients and cut in butter. Pat into the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking dish. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool slightly.
Filling: Combine first 5 filling ingredients and pour into the crust. Bake for 20-30 minutes {it ALWAYS takes at least 40 for mine to set up-- maybe my oven is weird} Remove from oven. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Cut into squares. Enjoy!

Something in the Water?

One more baby girl... One more tutu ensemble! Congratulations, Meagan & Patrick!

Blue & Gold

Scouting is so much fun! {words, believe me, I never thought I'd say}! Xander did a great job leading the flag ceremony.

Sister Avery called a few months ago and challenged him to get his Webelos badge for Blue & Gold. It was just the nudge he needed to get things done.

Alexander received his Webelos Badge, plus 12 Activity pins! Talk about motivation.

The food was awesome, the skits were cute, and there was an abundance of award giving:)
Even the Bishopric did a skit-- Priesthood On Patrol!

Sorry

My husband has convinced me {again} to keep up with our blog. Please excuse the poor thing in its naked state. It needs a new look. This pepto pink is not workin' for me.

New Favorite Chocolate Cake

I signed up for Bountiful Baskets for the first time last Saturday, and was AMAZED at all the wonderful local produce I received for $15!
I had to give some away, we had THAT much.
It was good to stretch my cooking repertoire & find new recipes for zucchini, asparagus, cucumbers, etc. The next time you find yourself with a few zucchini, try this recipe out. It is seriously moist & delish!
Alexander helped in the kitchen today, and couldn't believe that "vegetable cake" could taste so good. {recipe from allrecipes.com}

Chocolate Zucchini Cake
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk {I used sour cream}
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. salt
4 TBS. unsweetened cocoa powder
2 1/2 cups grated zucchini
{Alexander peeled the zucchini before he grated it, so you couldn't even tell it was there}
About 1 cup chocolate chips {I used semi-sweet}

• Cream together butter, oil and sugar.
• Add eggs, buttermilk and vanilla. Blend well.
• In a separate bowl, sift dry ingredients, then add to butter mixture.
• Add grated zucchini, and mix well.
• Spread in greased 9 x 13 pan. Sprinkle chocolate chips on top.
• Bake in a preheated oven {325 degrees} for 45 minutes. Enjoy!

Lake Roos

Once or twice a year, the wash behind our house will fill up with water.
All the WONDERFUL rain this week made us some pretty sweet lakefront property!One night after the kids were in bed, Darren opened our windows, pulled up two cozy chairs & blankets, and we just sat & listened to the rushing water.
Not the ocean, but I'll take it.
The moon looked so beautiful reflected on the water.

Pinewood Derby-- Year 3

Our last year of Pinewood Derby {sniff, sniff}--I can't believe it. Alexander's awesome design idea this year was to make his car look like a Wii remote. We thought it was a fantastic idea. The boys didn't have much time to work on it this year, but we thought it turned out great! Darren made a painting booth, complete with string to suspend the car from. That's my engineer!

Alexander's car is on the far right. That darn graphite always messes up the best paint jobs!
We combined with another ward, and it was fun to see so many families from our previous wards {before we all split}. These are Alexander's three cars from the past years. Home Depot, Twins & the Wii.

Zoom! Off in a flash. I think Xander's car was 6th overall.

{It didn't help that during a test run on the tabletop, Mom missed catching his car & it got beat up and bent just before the race} Sorry, bud! We're proud of you!

Rosette Headband

My friend Stephanie made THE most adorable rosette headbands for her girls. I found this great tutorial here and made a few. They're fun to do while you're just chillin' in front of the TV. Courtney loves them!

Hot Pocket!

There were some q-pons + a sale on Hot Pockets awhile ago. I caved for the deal! My kids haven't eaten them before, and asked what they were. We brought the laptop over to the table and watched Jim Gaffigan's take on Hot Pockets. Seriously funny. My friend Sarah introduced me to his comedy on the way home from a late night scrapbook crop. Good times!

Even after watching, my kids thought they were pretty tasty. Go figure.

Laser Tag, Roos Style

After a few wild games of laser tag around the house, the boys decided the best location for their sensors was on their heads. Cute, huh? Seriously sounds like a herd of elephants running around the house when they play. Ugh! This Nikon is not what I expected. My pictures are consistently grainy {especially indoors}. Any tips before I take it back?
This might be the best $20 I've ever spent at Target.

Girly Girls!

Two of my sweetest friends both have their first babies due in February-- and they're both having GIRLS! Just HAD to make matching tutu ensembles for them-- one in aqua & one in pink.
Shannon's daughter made a very early entrance into the world-- Miss Izzy couldn't wait to get here! They've had an amazing and inspiring journey.
Ariane... we're still waiting for the big news any day now:)
Good luck, new Mommies!

Update: Congratulations, Mike & Ariane!!! Their sweet baby Phoebe was born on 2/2! {Destined to wear 2/2s?}

The Great Wall

Just had to get something up there. Darren's still in Idaho, I'm desperate, so I called my girl Karen. TaDa! It says:

Inspiring music may fill the soul

with heavenly thoughts,

move one to righteous action,

or speak peace to the soul.
Ezra Taft Benson

It's a Sunshine Day

What a gorgeous day! The last day of sunshine before our guests had to go back to snowy, drifting, freezing Idaho weather.

We walked/biked around our neighborhood to the lake. Bright sun!

We all played a little basketball... I think Grandpa won HORSE every time!
Played a little soccer...
Ha!!! I snuck in a picture of Dad on my PINK bike.

Rebecca's comment after seeing this photo:

"Where's my cape?"